American International Pictures bought "Key of Keys" for $66,000.
However, they quickly realized that it was far too confusing for
Western audiences. It was AIP president
Henry G. Saperstein who came up with the
idea of turning the original inscrutable thriller into a comedy by
dubbing comedy dialog over it. As
Woody Allen had just scored an unexpected
hit with his screenplay for
What's New Pussycat (1965), Saperstein hired him and released
it under the title
What's Up, Tiger Lily? (1966).